The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/23 at 07:00 EST

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/23 at 07:00 EST

This ascent isn't for everyone. You need grit to climb this high this often. You've got to be an underdog that always over-delivers. You've got to be 6,500 hospital staff, 1,000 doctors, all doing so much with so little. You've got to be Scarborough. Defined by our uphill battle and always striving towards new heights. And you can help us keep climbing.

Donate at lovescarbro.cairbo. bro.ca. From CBC News, it's the world this hour. I'm Joe Cummings. The U.S. Justice Department has released another round of documents related to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. This overnight document dump is the eighth since Friday and is believed to include close to 400 videos, thousands of evidence spreadsheets,

and audio files. But even as this new release is being examined, questions continue to be asked about what materials being withheld or redacted. Epstein survivors are insisting that only a fraction of what is in the possession of the U.S. Justice Department at this point has been made available to the public. It is one of the biggest bombardments Ukraine has been hit with in months, and this morning most of the country is on high alert. Overnight Russia targeted residential areas and power grids right across Ukraine, killing at least three people. Crystal Gimancing has the details. Ukrainians rescued from smoke-filled buildings in the Zaporizia region in the southeast of the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posting on social media that Russia deployed more than 650 drones and over three dozen missiles. Logan, he is a Ukrainian soldier on the front lines around Kharkiv, for all. Operational reasons, last names are not generally provided, and often soldiers use nicknames. Mostly this attack is focused on the cities which are all around Ukraine, not on front lines. Russian state media reports, quote, the defense ministry is having hit Ukrainian infrastructure and military sites. Poland, a NATO member scrambled aircraft to ensure its airspace was not violated. Crystal Gamanssing, CBC News, London.

All this says Canada's operational military command is looking at the possibility of establishing permanent bases in Latvia. It is one potential solution to keep the country's NATO deployment in the Baltic region over a long period of time. Murray Brewster has more. We're looking at every option, very much understanding that we've got a limited number of troops. Lieutenant General Steve Bovan is in charge of Canada's military operations at home. home and abroad. He says planners under his command have embarked on a study about how to keep the deployment in Latvia going until 2029. We're looking at whether it would make sense to permanently base people forward. Beauvais underlines, however, no decision has been made. No recommendations

have gone to the chief of the defense staff or the government on the notion of permanent basing. Right now, about 2,200 Canadian troops cycle through Latvia roughly every six months, a costly time-consuming exercise that means there are very few soldiers left over for other missions. At least one other NATO ally, Germany, has already embraced the idea and plans to have troops permanently stationed in Lithuania by 27. Marie Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. A new program developed by Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind is training service dogs to work with autistic children.

And the organization has turned out its first two graduates. Natalia Goodwin reports. Four-year-old Nora Beale plays on the floor with her yellow Labrador, Fred, at her home in Pembroke, Ontario. But he's no ordinary companion. He's been trained by Canadian guide dogs for the blind. He helps her sleep better and with emotional regulation by applying pressure with his head, paws, or full body to help her calm down. Nsendisi Bungoza, a trainer with Canadian guide dogs for the blind, says the program was built out of knees. They've been receiving requests for years.

People are always asking us, asking us. And then we thought in 2025, why not give it a try? All the work pays off when he sees the result with the families. It gives that fulfillment that you contribute in somebody's life. Canadian guide dogs for the blind says it will continue to develop the program with placements planned for the upcoming year. Natalia Goodwin, CBC News, Ottawa. And that is the world this hour.

I'm Joe Cummings